The Girl Who Fell From the Moon
by Parabola Beam
Summary: Where are we from, and what comprises any one soul? What are you willing to do to seek your purpose? [Mostly Ruby/Weiss]
1. Chapter 1

Her body woke before her eyes could open, and the scream that tore from her throat was cut short by the unforgiving impact with the floor that followed.

Her ears were ringing and she was sobbing.

...

"Ruby!"

"Let me go! Let me go _let me go, please, please_!"

Yang knew when Ruby was serious.

So the fact that she had no choice but to keep holding her pained her greatly. She smoothed Ruby's hair out of her face and her hand shook as she accepted the damp washcloth Blake had rushed to them, dabbing at her sweating forehead and cheeks, the perspiration that beaded down her neck and the front of her chest.

"Ruby, you _fell_-you're hurt, you need to hold still-" Blake tried to explain, unsteadiness seeping through the cracks in her voice where she'd tried to keep it calm.

"It's no use-don't, she can't hear you-" Yang held the flailing, shrieking girl as still as she could manage, "-It's always like this, all we can do is wait it out-"

"'Always'?"

Ruby screamed louder and Yang pushed a fierce, protective kiss to the crown of her head.

"...Night terrors." Yang admitted. "She gets them from time to time and-tends to sleepwalk-Ruby, I'm _sorry_, baby, I'm sorry, I know, I _know_-t... tends to sleepwalk and I think that's why she put her bed like this when we got here but I guess it didn't work-she's not herself when this happens and-oh Ruby, Ruby I'm right here, I'm _right here_-" Yang interrupted herself to go against her own advice and Blake held her shoulder firmly.

"Let me hold her. You've done it for so long-let me, Yang-"

"-I didn't say anything because I knew she was trying to handle it herself and-if I'd-if I had just-"

"-_Yang_." Blake's voice was firm but her expression was soft. "You don't want her to see you like this when she wakes up." Lacking anything else, Blake plucked her hair bow from her ears and handed it to Yang. "Use that. You're crying. It's okay. She'll be okay. She's been through worse. She'll go through worse. We're here for her right now and Weiss will be back any minute." Yang swallowed thickly and nodded, made sure that Ruby was safely wrapped in Blake's embrace before holding the ribbon to her eyes, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she tried to get a grip on herself, her heart slamming at the inside of her chest with every pained, terrified shriek she heard. The crying was intense and frightening to _her_-she could only imagine how Ruby was feeling, what she was seeing-her _baby sister_-

There were voices from out in the hall. Team JNPR was awake, and it sounded like the rest of the hallway was soon to follow.

"Ren, Nora!"

Pyrrha's voice had a certain effect on people.

"Go tell everyone else to stay in their rooms! Jaune! With me-!"

It was the kind of voice that no one argued with, though Nora's gave her a run for her money.

"PARK YOUR HEINIES BACK INTO BED, NOTHING TO SEE HERE, GO GO GO-!"

There was a distinct, wobbling _twang_ followed by a sharp, girlish squeal.

Pyrrha's voice again.

"I'm sorry! Inside voice, Nora! Ren, would you-?"

"-Understood."

Yang glanced between Ruby and the door and realized that Ruby's eyes were starting to stay open longer.

"Sis-! Wake up, it's us!"

...

She needed to run.

Run, flee, escape, far and fast away-

She needed to find her again, the one who'd left her, the one she'd been _torn_ from-

The word dragged its nails down her insides and she screamed with mortal terror-she couldn't move, she would suffocate, her head was ringing-

She needed to find her again-

The door slammed open, a figure clothed in white and red appearing in the doorway, backed by the light in the hallway. Her eyes went huge and her mouth dropped open, chest heaving as she pulled towards her-

...

"Professor Goodwitch is on the way!" Weiss called from the doorway, slamming her scroll shut and nodding to Pyrrha and Jaune, waving them ahead after handing them the hastily-scrawled combination to Ruby's locker. "How is she?! Still not awake, or-?!"

"_**Summer**__!_"

Ruby flung herself into Weiss, dragging herself down her body until she was on her knees, arms locked tight around her hips. She wept sorely, obviously spent from her ordeal, shaking, red-faced and hysteric.

"R-Ruby-?!"

"Don't go, don't go don't let me go no no no please, _please_-"

No one moved. No one spoke.

"Don't-" Yang croaked, pleading, "-whatever you do-"

Slowly, unsteadily, Weiss sank into the embrace, holding her as close as she would allow, and Ruby did not resist, in fact clawing her way back up until her arms were around Weiss' shoulders.

"Dolt- Ruby-" Weiss stammered, trying to stay as calm as she possibly could.

She didn't _do_ hugging, but-

"I'm right here. Don't you dare cry anymore." In a lower voice, she added, "I can handle anyone's tears but yours."

"...S'mmer..." Ruby's voice was weak and strained with exhaustion.

They sat on the floor together and Weiss swallowed, looking between Yang and Blake over Ruby's shoulders, breathing hard through her own cold sweat as Ruby went limp and peaceful, breathing normally once more.

"...Yang. Blake." Weiss exhaled, feeling keenly the creasing space between her brows as the headache of their whirlwind of an experience caught up with her.

"...Who's Summer?"


	2. Chapter 2

It had been the first time in her life that Weiss had truly panicked.

When it came to herself, she never found the time to feel worried; no, she spent he efforts remaking her situation and emerging victorious. But this-

-There hadn't been anything they could do except get her help, get her through this.

She cradled Ruby close to her, with no regard to the strain that was her virtually dead weight. To be honest, she didn't even feel it.

"_Students_-to your rooms, _now_, if you _please_-"

If Pyrrha's voice had been authoritative, Glynda's was totalitarian: indeed the sound of everyone scurrying back to their rooms was uniform, no doubt having weighed their curiosity against Glynda's temper and unanimously deciding that it either wasn't worth it or that they'd find out through the grapevine tomorrow anyway.

Or so they thought. Weiss silently vowed not to let anyone spread schoolyard gossip about her partner, no matter what truths it contained.

It wasn't anyone else's_ business_, and she felt herself getting preemptively angry on Ruby's behalf.

Glynda came inside the room, shutting the door behind her to keep out prying eyes before she began firing questions to assess the situation. They explained as best they could, though Weiss was troubled by the way she looked at Ruby all throughout.

"-and she was hallucinating, you've gotta help her Ms. Goodwitch-" Yang choked, only having just finished winding down with crying herself, and undoubtedly feeling renewed worry at having to recount everything that had transpired.

"I see. Did anyone notice whether or not the impact hit her head? If there's any possibility of concussion or blunt trauma, I'm afraid I must insist that she stay in the nurse's office for the night, at least." Her gaze flickered to Ruby's bed, suspended in the air and lopsided from the amount of activity it had seen on this particular night. "She certainly can't stay here. I want her bed taken down within the day and placed firmly on the ground."

Yang and Blake exchanged nervous glances: it seemed Glynda hadn't noticed their own haphazard arrangement and they weren't about to bring it to her attention. Blake nodded her head.

"I think I woke up first. From where I was, I saw her fall and she hit the ground pretty hard."

"Understood." Glynda snapped briskly, "Miss Schnee, please turn her over to me."

Ruby was clutching Weiss desperately, even in sleep. Weiss hesitated.

"W-Wait, Ms. Goodwitch, I need to know something first-" She quickly turned to Yang, raising her eyebrows as if to denote that she expected an answer this time, no excuses, "-Why did she call me 'Summer'?"

Yang opened her mouth to speak, but closed it the moment Ruby stirred sleepily.

"_Yang_-" Weiss ground out warningly, urgently. Glynda was not very patient and wouldn't wait forever.

"-It's...complicated. Ruby's the only one who can tell you-"

"...Tell...what?"

All eyes were back on Ruby as she woke slowly, shaking, from either fear or cold or something else Weiss could not tell.

"Miss Rose." Glynda interrupted swiftly, adjusting her glasses. "I'm glad to see you awake. It bodes well for your recovery. But we must make for the nurse's office immediately. I want you to stay there and sleep properly, understood?"

Ruby clung to Weiss with trepidation. "I don't wanna go alone-I can't-"

"We'll come with you, sis, it'll be okay-"

"You will not." Glynda cut in harshly. "She is going there to recover, and needs peace and quiet-"

"G-Glynda please-" Ruby croaked, a damp sweat coming in on her forehead, "-I need... I, _need_-"

Glynda narrowed her eyes at Ruby as she nuzzled into Weiss, who had embraced her protectively.

"Ma'am-" Yang entreated politely, "-with all due respect, I don't think you understand, she needs a little bit of comfort right now and I... I of all people know how hard these nightmares are on her-"

"If Miss Rose is qualified to come to Beacon," Glynda interjected icily, "then she is qualified to speak for herself and explain why exactly she had to scream bloody murder and wake the rest of the building for something she hasn't grown out of-"

Weiss swallowed, not out of any fear of Glynda, no-she could see the way Yang's expression changed, and looking between them, in that moment, she understood something, and felt it spark a hot flash of rage inside every drop of blood in her body.

_Glynda's mad at her. She's mad at Ruby for getting hurt._

Yang blew her lid first.

'Exploded' would be an understatement.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS YOUR PROBLEM?! THIS ISN'T AN ISOLATED INCIDENT YOU CANTANKEROUS OLD _WITCH_, HOW DARE YOU, HOW _DARE_ YOU-?!" Yang looked as though she might punch Glynda-and the moment Weiss thought it, she swung-

Blake was on her in an instant, holding her back. By the way Glynda hadn't even flinched or made to move out of her way, Weiss could sense that it was largely to Yang's benefit that Blake had stopped her. Her touch seemed to calm Yang in ways that couldn't otherwise come to be.

"Yang, stop. Once people are _set in their ways_," Blake hissed with obvious vitrol, "they become cold and insensitive to those that need kindness most."

"How- how _dare_ you-" Yang repeated, sagging into Blake's arms, furious tears on her cheeks, "How dare you treat Ruby like a _coward_, how _dare_ you-"

Glynda adjusted her glasses, completely nonplussed.

"I will collect her now. Miss Schnee is permitted to stay with her, as she is her partner. But you both are to remain here."

Apparently Glynda had had a change of heart, albeit a small one.

...

They gathered little of Ruby's belongings-even in her groggy state, Ruby insisted on taking her cloak with her, and Yang helped her slide some slippers onto her feet as she held onto Weiss for support. They followed behind Glynda, Weiss holding Ruby by the hand and keeping her steady all the way.

She couldn't take her eyes off of her.

She'd never seen Ruby do anything like that before, and-

It had scared her.

Her heart twisted uncomfortably the more she looked at Ruby, so exhausted, so helpless and childlike with her cloak draped partway over her shoulder and held fondly to her cheek like a security blanket, even though she looked like she could fall asleep standing up any moment-

"We're here."

They helped Ruby into a cot and Glynda exchanged some words with the nurse in private.

Weiss never let go of Ruby's hand.

She didn't know how to deal with how she felt right now. It had been easier when there was something to be doing, but now, just looking at her spent partner and knowing that she'd be fine but not being able to do _more_ for her?

She hated waiting.

She hated it.

The nurse ran some simple tests, and Glynda watched with folded arms. Weiss felt as though she wanted to ask her something, but even if she did know just what to ask her, she looked deeply pensive and she wasn't so sure even she wanted to chance it.

The only reason she hadn't risen to Ruby's defense with a fury was because Yang had beaten her to it, had articulated perfectly everything Weiss had wanted to scream.

"I trust you'll be fine if I leave you now, Miss Schnee?"

"Yes." She replied flatly, feeling slightly more venomous out of the heat of the moment, wanting to spitefully make up for the missed opportunity of responding unpleasantly to her for how she'd talked about Ruby.

But she swung on her heel and left without any further announcement, leaving Weiss stewing in her discontent.

What had gotten into her? She wasn't _like_ this. Professor Goodwitch had been her favorite teacher: cunning and serious, tolerating no nonsense and-

-She reminded Weiss of her father. Now more than ever.

"...Weiss?" Ruby's voice was soft and worried, and Weiss squeezed her hand. "I'm not tired. Promise..." Ruby assured her, but she interrupted herself with a yawn that betrayed her.

"...Dolt." Weiss couldn't help but smile, finding her voice again. "You're not allowed to scare us like that. You owe us big time, you know."

Ruby giggled and reached her arms out, inviting.

"I'll make it up t'you-" She slurred sleepily, "-honest-"

"You're the worst. Shut up." Weiss leaned in and allowed her the embrace, meaning for it to be brief, but it seemed Ruby had other ideas, and it lingered and dragged on as she let the weight of her arms sag around Weiss' shoulders.

"I'll tell y'a secret-" Ruby taunted, and before Weiss could react, she pulled herself up until their faces were even closer, and mumbled near her ear, "-I'm kinda relieved to have you scolding me again, heh-"

Weiss felt her face heat up, ridiculously fast, and she pinched at Ruby's cheeks with a pout of her own. "You have no idea, I'm not even getting started, dunce-"

"Awww, how _cuuute_!"

"Yang! Blake!" Ruby called out, overjoyed, "What're you doing here?"

"Shhh! I don't want Glynda jumping down our necks!" Yang waved her hands, "But like hell I was gonna let her tell me I can't see my _baby sis _when she's in trouble-"

Weiss silently berated herself for not having asked Ruby what she'd wanted to ask her while they'd still had some privacy.

She'd ask the very next time they were alone. She swore it to herself.

Blake whirled around, ears twitching at something only she had heard.

"Yes, it'd be a shame if the _cantankerous old witch _caught you all outside past curfew."

"Professor Ozpin...?" Ruby squeaked, drawing her cloak up under her chin.

"Oh geez-I'm really sorry you had to hear that-" Yang apologized reflexively, though everyone knew that if it had happened all over again, she'd have reacted the exact same way.

"...How _did_ you hear all that anyway?" Weiss probed suspiciously, an eyebrow arching with accusation.

If there were a picture in the dictionary next to the word 'nonchalance', it would be of the exact look on his face as he took a sip of his coffee in that moment.

"I have my ways."

"You're not going to tell Goodwitch, are you?" Blake's eyes narrowed warily.

"No, I don't believe so. At least, not any time soon." He chuckled as if he'd said something particularly amusing and approached Ruby's bedside, setting down the plate of cookies he'd been balancing in his other hand. "I simply wanted to come and let you all know not to take Professor Goodwitch's words too personally. The meaner she is, the more she cares. I would know. And besides-" His expression shed some of the lackadaisical nature that went with bringing rule-breaking students cookies in the middle of the night, "-nightmares are somewhat of a... personal matter for her."

Before he had the chance to elaborate further-if he'd even intended to-Jaune and Pyrrha slipped in quietly, shuffling over in their pajamas and having a very animated, whispered conversation.

"Jaune, if you... need assistance carrying it, I would suggest sooner rather than later-"

"Pyrrha... hoo!-I got this. It's good. It's not that heavy-"

"You're... straining. And Ruby might be upset if you drop it-"

"I promise! I'm not going to drop-!"

Jaune squealed aloud as Crescent Rose dropped from his arms, and Ruby cringed and squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting a loud sound that never came.

She opened them in time to see Pyrrha's outstretched hand floating her prized weapon into her lap, and with a peal of delight she scooped it into her arms and cradled it close.

"My _baby_-!"

"Ohh crap. Is... that the headmaster?"

"Is... that rhetorical?"

"...Are _you_ rhetorical-?"

"You're not in trouble, don't worry." Ozpin waved them closer and beckoned for them to take a cookie. "At least, not until exactly four minutes and... twenty-seven seconds from now, unless you're Miss Schnee."

"Whuh-? Hwy?" Jaune asked through a mouthful of cookies.

"That's when the _good witch _finishes her rounds of the dorms she's checking before yours. I suggest you all keep your visit brief."

"Wait. Is she really gonna come back in four minutes and twenty-seven seconds-?"

"Well no. Now it's four minutes and ten, nine-" Ozpin flipped open a pocket watch, "-eight-"

"Yikes! Okay, uh-we better scram. Ruby! Take care okay? We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Goodbye again!"

Yang and Blake exchanged glances as Jaune and Pyrrha hastened outside. Blake gave a polite incline of her head as she went for the door, where she waited for Yang, who took a moment to muss up Ruby's hair and plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks, teach! Really appreciate the whole, 'not-telling-Goodwitch' thing!"

"Indeed." He gestured his mug towards Weiss as he turned to her. "And now, I'll really leave you to it. Good night, children." And he disappeared almost as quickly and as quietly as he'd come.

Weiss looked at Ruby as the younger girl stretched and yawned.

_Now._

"It was so nice of everyone to visit-"

_Now._

"I don't know how to make it up to everyone for standing up for me-"

"There's... something." Weiss started hesitantly, looked into Ruby's eyes, and kept talking before she'd have half a mind to stop herself.

"Summer. Who is Summer, Ruby?"

Ruby stilled, and for a moment, Weiss had worried she'd done something horrible by asking after all.

But she only smiled sweetly back at her.

"...Summer?"

"Yes. Who is she?"

Ruby's smile didn't quite reach her eyes anymore, and there was something about it that made Weiss' breath catch.

It had meaning. Pain.

Ruby laid down again with a tired sigh, squeezing Weiss' hand in hers.

"Ruby-"

"No one would believe me if I told them."

And before Weiss could try to convince her otherwise, she was asleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby made enough of a physical recovery to be released from the nurse's ward the following morning. Weiss had nodded off with her head onto her folded arms against the edge of Ruby's bed, and was roused by none other than the younger girl herself.

That being said, Professor Port's class proved especially difficult for Ruby to stay awake in. She sat next to Weiss and scratched out a note to her, sleepily smudging the graphite as she passed it discreetly.

_If I had known Port's class was gonna be the first thing I woke up to I would've stayed in bed._

Weiss blinked at the reply before her brows knit together with a glower. She scribbled back:

_And you'd leave me to suffer alone? You're not staying in bed unless you've got room for me to hide with you, you dolt._

Ruby smirked and if Weiss hadn't been paying attention before, she definitely wasn't now. She propped a hand under her chin to casually watch the words taking shape.

_I thought you liked Port's lectures. And ugh don't remind me that I've gotta figure something new out with my bed now._

Weiss sighed and dragged the paper back to herself.

_I like them the first time. Maybe the second. Definitely not the third. Or, you know, the 17th-_

Ruby stole the paper back before she could finish.

_HAS IT SERIOUSLY BEEN 17 TIMES ALREADY OMG_

Weiss sighed and scribbled in return:

_YES-_

_I DON'T BELIEVE U-_

_Well, believe me, here comes the part about how he wrestled the ursa-_

"-and then-ha-HA! I captured the brute in a headlock and-

Ruby slumped over the desk in defeat.

...

The bell couldn't have come soon enough. Lunch time meant free time and free time meant that they could work on their project.

"Weiss, can we grab some lunch first before we start? I'm like, really super hungry-" Ruby pouted, and her stomach growled audibly, right on cue.

Weiss was loathe to admit it, but she was feeling rather peckish herself, and the events of the previous night were still fresh in her mind. She wanted to make certain that Ruby was fed and healthy and that she was taking proper care of herself.

"Go ahead. I'll find a table and get started."

"Thanks so much! Did you want anything?"

"I've already brought mine." Weiss took a neatly-wrapped parcel out of her back to reveal a partitioned lunch box filled with a mixed salad, green apple slices, celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, and a small container of hummus.

"Bunny food!" Ruby made a face and stuck out her tongue. "I'm gonna take you out for pizza sometime. And I'm not even gonna let you wipe the grease off with a napkin."

"That's disgusting."

"But you'll eat _that_!?"

"You can't just have cookies for lunch every day, you know."

"Says who?"

"Says _me_ you little dolt-"

"Who're you calling little you little...shrimplord!?"

"Come here."

"What? No!"

"_Come here_, Ruby-"

Weiss tugged Ruby down by her collar and watched her eyes widen as she plucked a cucumber stick from her box and prodded it at Ruby's lips.

"No! No no no no-!" Ruby squirmed and turned her face away, "Weiss no! It's so _green _oh my god-!" Ruby shrieked as Weiss twisted a bite of it off into her mouth and clapped her hands over it, staring at her partner with the most betrayed expression Weiss had ever seen in her life.

"It's not that bad."

"I hate you Weiss!" Ruby swallowed and gagged miserably, shivering from head to toe. Contrary to her exclamation, she beamed at her as she turned around to make a run for the lunch line. "Be right back!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow and caught herself smiling in return, before quashing it down to turn her attention to her notes-

"H-Hey! Ruby!"

A voice called and ran past, in Ruby's direction, and Weiss looked up again in spite of herself.

...

Ruby hummed to herself in the lunch line, bobbing up and down on her ankles to make sure there were some cookies left. Weiss had kept her, so maybe she was too late-

But really, it had surprised her. Weiss wasn't a very physical person in many senses, so for her to get so fun and mischievous on her all of a sudden-

Well. There was nothing fun about that nasty cucumber. Blech. Ruby wrinkled her nose at the memory, but her expression gave way to a smile as she thought of how Weiss had smirked at her.

At the beginning of the semester, she'd thought of Weiss as a 'negative friend'.

If she didn't know better herself, she wouldn't have believed it now.

Ruby turned as she heard a familiar voice, grinning as Jaune jogged up to her.

"Oh! Hey, friend." She took an extra tray and passed it to him, and then realized that he was probably going to ask her about last night. "Uh-thanks a lot for-ah, you know-"

"Don't worry. I get that people are probably gonna be all over you today asking if you're okay, so-if you don't wanna talk about it it's all good." Jaune spooned some mashed potatoes beside his Grimm-shaped chicken nuggets as he followed her in line. Ruby's shoulders relaxed considerably.

_Thank god_. "Thanks Jaune. I really appreciate it." Ruby helped herself to a sandwich and a few chocolate chip cookies, and then a carton of milk. Going to class right away had distracted her from thinking about what had happened, and she was okay right now, so, she hadn't given it much thought until she saw him.

Jaune was understanding, but what about everyone else? She could probably just get away with telling people she'd forgotten what she'd dreamed about, that it was an isolated thing, even though Yang knew better about the frequency of it.

Except, one person knew. One person knew that she'd remembered her dream, and it was the person she spent the most time with, too.

She was hiding it from her own partner.

It wasn't like the current project had been helping things either. She'd been trying to hide how uncomfortable it made her, but that had manifested in delaying the inevitable and now she had to buckle down and get the work done.

But, it wasn't like she could just tell her about it, and tell her that she believed it was true. Weiss of all people wouldn't understand something like that. Weiss wasn't afraid of anything.

"And of course if you _do_ wanna talk about it-I'm your guy, okay?" Jaune took a hand off his tray to give her a thumbs-up, but the smile slid off his face as quickly and as easily as the gravy spilling over the edge of it as he underestimated the weight capacity of that many chicken nuggets and his volcano of mashed potatoes. "Aww crap crap crap crap crap-!"

"Ruby, come on." Weiss' voice appeared from behind her, "Tell tall blond and scraggly that we have work to do." Her voice was clipped and irritated and Ruby wondered how long she'd been there.

"Sorry Jaune, I really should get going, thanks again a lot though!"

"Don't mention it!" Jaune called back with a wave as Ruby and Weiss left. He was still frantically chasing the dripping gravy with a wad of napkins. "Like seriously!...Don't mention it."

...

They took their seats and Ruby passed Weiss a cookie. The heiress regarded it with an arched brow before her cheerful leader spoke up.

"We'll start small. There's hope for you yet."

In other circumstances, Weiss might have accepted it, but as it were-

"I don't like sweets." She tossed her hair, a pout turning the corners of her lips, "And I don't want crumbs all over the notes."

Ruby shrugged and took a bite of it herself. "More for me, then." If Ruby was saddened by her refusal, Weiss was choosing not to know. Ruby had the kind of face that could smile through any amount of tears or heartache, and Weiss was not going to look up.

"I can probably go over all the scientific parts about the formation of the moon and the origins of dust. You can probably get away with simplifying the explanations and we should have more than enough to finish the presentation and touch base on all parameters of the assignment. Provided that you understand everything we're going over. You can use any of my notes to prepare and I'll help you practice. The details in light blue highlights are mine and yours are in red. I've tried to make it as clear cut as possible."

"Weiss-"

"And it'll be okay if you talk fast and get nervous a little anyway, it's not like Professor Oobleck of all people can fault you for that-"

"Weiss, wait."

Unfortunately, Ruby was more keen than she often gave the girl credit for.

"Hm."

"Something's wrong." It wasn't a question.

Oh well. Weiss had wanted to clear the air sooner or later, anyway.

"...You're my partner, Ruby."

"O-Of course."

"So if you're going to tell anyone anything about last night-" Weiss hesitated. It felt like a deeply personal thing to be asking of her, somehow, partners or not. Or rather-

It was because this sort of thing felt like something deeper than their partnership. Weiss wasn't sure if she wanted everything that that entailed, but-

She knew she wanted to know, and that she cared for Ruby. So wasn't that enough?

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Weiss knew enough that she wasn't simply doing this out of a petty impulse to know about it before Jaune-if Ruby were to choose to tell him-it certainly hadn't helped that he'd approached and offered and _schmoozed_ to Ruby to find out-

Jaune wasn't _that_ smart. She was being paranoid. He was dumb, but genuine. Like a golden retriever puppy.

Okay, maybe she was more jealous about it than she wanted to let on, but still, her motives were sincere, and-

Maybe she did want to be closer to Ruby.

"Weiss-?"

She'd fallen silent for a little too long, and sighed in frustration.

"Weiss, I-I wanna tell you."

Weiss felt her heart jump into her throat. _That was certainly sudden_. She'd wanted to ask and put it out there but the reality of Ruby reciprocating was almost too good to be true. The younger girl was staring at the table and fidgeting with the wrapper of her sandwich.

"I just-it's..." She sighed and poked her straw into her milk, picking at the folded-down cardboard flaps on the sides. "I haven't even told Yang. I wanna tell someone, really, but-I'm scared."

"Scared?" Weiss stared hard at her, trying to gleam any information she could from Ruby's expression.

"When I think about it, I start to feel like I can't do anything. I just feel really weird and-" Ruby's voice was shaking and her eyes were wide, lips drawn tight as she fell silent. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them she seemed a little more at ease.

"I just don't wanna worry anyone-"

"Stop." Ruby blinked as Weiss leaned forward. "Ruby Rose. I am your team mate-your partner. And-" She hesitated only briefly. "-I am also your friend. And you're my friend. Too."

"Weiss-" Relief shone in every part of Ruby's posture and Weiss plucked the bitten cookie from her hand, regarding it with mild interest before taking a bite of it herself.

"So it doesn't have to be right now. But I hope that when and if there's something bothering you, just-don't take too long about it, of course, but also, I want-I want you to tell me first. I'm going to earn that right, so just, trust me. Okay?"

Ruby sniffled and nodded vigorously.

"Oh god, don't cry. Come on, take your cookie back-there you go." Weiss knew it wasn't about the cookie, but she still-

-lacked skill when it came to dealing with tearful people.

Was this a good idea after all?

It was too late now, first of all, and secondly-

-she didn't _care_. She wasn't taking a word of it back over her dead body.

She just wanted Ruby to talk to her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I-" Ruby sighed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "-I'd like that, maybe-maybe after the project is over with. I do wanna tell you."

"Good. Let's finish our lunch while there's still some time left, then. I tried your cookie, so, I think you're due for another cucumber stick-"

"Aww Weiss, come on! You already made me try one so we're even, right?!"

Weiss snatched Ruby's cookie and stole another bite before handing it back.

"Oh come on that's so cheap I can't believe you-!"

"At least you picked up an actual lunch this time."

"It was just because Jaune was in line with me, I never know how to carry a conversation so I had to grab other stuff to fill the space or something-"

"You're certainly doing fine right now, you know."

Ruby's cheeks colored and the blush went all the way out to her ears. "That's different." She insisted, slurping at her milk through the straw and looking away.

...

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby asked as they packed up their belongings upon hearing the bell for class ring.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever... had a dream where you were falling?"

Weiss paused momentarily in her efforts to zip her bag, but then continued with a shrug. "Sometimes. It's pretty common from what I've heard. Why?"

"...No reason."


End file.
